February 15, 2019 • Austin Cunningham

Best Music Festivals in America 2019

As March approaches and 2019 festival lineups continue to get announced, I along with many others begin to get flooded with feelings of excitement and anticipation for the upcoming festival season.

My friends and I seem to argue more than ever this time of year and it's almost always about festival lineups or the logistics of planning our Summer trips. We started a group message about four years ago that has grown into a lifeline for our festival questions, discussion, and disagreements. It seems as if every year between January and March we argue more then ever...😑🙄

Each year our friends attempt to deem one festival the "Squad Festival" which just means everyone has to do their best to attend. With a MASSIVE amount of new music festivals popping up over the past 10 years our decision seems to be getting harder each year! With that in mind we have narrowed the options to the what we consider the "Best American Music Festivals of 2019" based off their lineups, experiences and locations.

Keep in mind these are not ranked any certain order...

Music Festival Crowd

Coachella Music Festival

Indio, California

Coachella is hosted at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, located within the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. The festival takes place annually over two weekends in April.This year the festival will be hosted between Friday, April 12th and Sunday, April 21st.

Coachella is one of the largest, best produced, and, well organized music festivals in the world so it was a given for it to be included on the list.

Coachella also consistently brings one of the best lineups year after year including some of biggest names in genres such as Pop, Hip-Hop, Reggae, Rock, Indie and Electronic Dance Music. Along with the great music Coachella also hosts top notch food vendors, street performers, and art installations.

With the venue being so close to Los Angles it has become a hangout for celebrities, musicians, and the top influencers. Which also means its one of the best opportunities for someone to meet their favorite celebrity in a casual setting.

Ariana Grande, Tame Impala and Childish Gambino will be headlining the Festival in 2019. Some other notable artists include The 1975, DJ Khalid, Bassnectar, Kid Cudi, and Dillion Francis.2019 Lineup?

BOTH weekends are SOLD OUT😞

BUT you can sign up for the waiting list here.

Still Have QUESTIONS?

Electric Daisy Carnival

Las Vegas, Nevada

Electric Daisy is considered by thousands to be one of biggest and best music festivals in the world!! For 3 days in May the Las Vegas Speedway turns into spectacular rave wonderland full of 12 stages, hundreds of costumed performers, and countless carnival rides all included with admission. They also put one two MASSIVE firework displays each night along with their opening and closing ceremony to open and close the festival. I have attended EDC the past two years and will be attending again this year as it never disappoints! This is one of the busiest weekends in Vegas so festival goers also get to experience the magic of Las Vegas during the day not to mention the nonstop pool parties that are rampant each year during EDC week. This years lineup is yet to confirm but the tickets are already available as it never disappoints fans.

2019 Lineup?

Unannounced. Typically gets announced in late March.

Buy Tickets Here!

Still Have Questions?

Bonnaroo Music Festival

Manchester, Tennessee

BONNNNAROOOOOO!!!

Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival started in 2002 and has been hosted at Great Stage Park in the Mid June every year since. The festival started as a much smaller gathering focusing on Jam Band and Folk artists. Bonnaroo has since grown to be one of the biggest and most well known music festivals in America. The festival draws between 50,000-100,000 people each year and a large majority of the attendees choose to camp (most camp next to their car).

Bonnaroo is now known booking the biggest names in a wide variety of genres such as Rock, Alternative, Indie, Jam, Folk, Bluegrass, Hip-hop, R and B, Pop, Reggae, Electronic and just about any other genre you can think of.

Bonnaroo is very unique in comparison to a typical music festival. Some examples include that "Centeroo" (The Venue) is open and accessible 24 hours. Also, they own the land which the festival is hosted on allowing them to build art installations, landmarks ( Arch and Mushroom Pictured Below), and stages without having to deconstruct them year after year. Lastly, Bonaroo is known for NEVER sleeping and with live music being played 24 hours a day I don't blame them👿 Bonnaroo has an upbeat, high energy vibe unlike any other music festival. I would strongly encourage everyone to put it on their bucket list and make it happen.

Bonnaroo was my first ever music festival and truly holds a special place in my heart ❤️️ This year will be my fourth year since first attending in 2014. I would strongly encourage everyone to put it on their bucket list and make it happen.Some of best moments of my entire life have happened at this place we call "The Farm".

Bonnaroo will always be home ❤️️

bonnaroo music festival arch

2019 Lineup?

Buy Tickets Here!

Governors Ball Music Festival

New York City, New York

The Governors Ball Music Festival is a multi-day music festival held on May 31st-June 1st at Randall's Island in New York. The festival features an array of music genres and styles of , including rock, electronic, Indie, alternative, pop, folk, and more. It was founded in 2011 and is produced by Founders Entertainment, a company based in New York City.

The 2019 lineup features Tyler The Creator, Lil Wayne, The 1975, The Strokes, Florence + The Machine, NAS, Louis The Child, SZA, and many more! Aside from the wide variety of music, the festival features a multitude of popular New York restaurants and food trucks, as well as activities, games, and art vendors. It sells almost every year so get your tickets while they're still available!

2019 Lineup?

Buy Tickets Here!

Still Have Questions?

Electric Forest Music Festival

Rothbury, Michigan

Electric Forest is a unlike any other music festival. It's a unique 5 Day Music and Campin Experience that takes place in Mid June in the midst of the Sherwood Forest in Northern Michigan that I deeply believe everyone should experience once before they die. It is now a, one-weekend, multi-genre event with a focus on electronic and jam band genres with a little bit of alternative and hip-hop sprinkled in. The festival is held annually in Rothbury Michigan at the Double JJ Resort.

In 2017 and 2018, the festival expanded to 2 weekends back to back, before switching back to one weekend format for the upcoming 2019 in hopes of preserving the venue for long term use. ❤️️

Electric Forest, which debuted in 2011, is co-produced by Madison House Presents and Insomniac Events . In 2015 the event drew an estimated 45,000 attendees over a single weekend and in 2017 Electric Forest was nominated for Festival of the Year at the Electronic Music Awards.

2019 Lineup?

Electric Forest 2019 Tickets

SOLD OUT

Still Have Questions?

Dancfestopia Music Festival

La Cygne, Kansas (South of Kansas City)

Dancefestopia is a 4 day Camping and Music Festival with a focus on EDM and Bass artists. In 2019 it will be hosted on September 5th-8th. DFT was originated in 2012 and was hosted at Berkley Riverfront Park near downtown Kansas City. It has since grown out of that venue and is now hosted on a much larger property 30 minutes south of Kansas City. The new venue is beautiful and a perfect setup for a music festival. It is my hometown Festival so I've been fortunate to be able to see it grow while attending every year expect 2012.

Dancefest hosts a high energy crowd due to its bass focused lineup and NONSTOP music. The lineups consistently top notch luring in bassheads from across the country and I expect nothing less this year for their 8th Annual Music and Camping Festival.

Dancefestopia Music Festival

2019 Lineup?

Unannounced- Typically gets announced in April

Buy Tickets Here!

Still Have Questions?

Ultra Music Festival 2019

Miami, Florida

Ultra Music Festival is an annual outdoor electronic music festival that takes place annually during March in Miami, Florida. In 2012, a record attendance of 155,000 people attended the festival. In 2013, for the first time in Ultra’s history, the festival took place across two consecutive weekends welcoming a combined attendance of 330,000 people. In 2014, the festival returned to its original one weekend format, selling out pre sale tickets in under five minutes. The most recent edition of Ultra, in 2018, welcomed 165,000 people to the festival.

The production is top notch and they consistently put out one of the best EDM lineups in the world. Although I won't be attending I am absolutely in love with the 2019 lineup!! Check out the lineup below!🔥❤️️